New Miss Greater Rockville crowned

Seventeen-year-old Danielle Sturgeon said she was in disbelief when her name was announced as the new Miss Greater Rockville, at the scholarship competition held on March 7 at Vernon Center Middle School. Eight contestants from across Connecticut competed for the "Miss"-level crown, while four teens competed for the title of "Miss Greater Rockville's Outstanding Teen." The local preliminary to the Miss Connecticut and Miss America competitions is presented by the Rockville Community Alliance.

"It's absolutely insane," Sturgeon said, just after her crowning. "Am I really Miss Greater Rockville? I'm still on cloud nine."

She said she had read her horoscope the morning of the competition, which said her life was going to change that day.

"I think that's a good sign, so I went into the competition feeling real confident," she said. "I said, 'I got this.'"

Sturgeon had also changed her talent last minute. In other recent pageants, the drama club veteran had performed a dramatic scene from "Joan of Arc." This time, she wanted something more cheery, so she sang "Of Monsters and Men" by Little Talks, accompanying herself on the ukulele.

"It's all snowy and depressing outside, and I want to be on the beach in Hawaii, so I decided to change it up and sing, and do the ukulele," she said. "I guess it worked out."

Sturgeon, a senior at Granby Memorial High School, will take part in the Miss Connecticut competition in June. Her platform is "From the Ground Up – Planting the Seeds for Better Health." She had previously competed in the Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen Competition twice, and said she feels happy to be on the "Miss" level now.

"It's crazy. It's so different than the teen pageant, and now I'm a Miss, so I'm going to have to work so hard, but I'm feeling so ready and so excited. It feels like the real deal."

Sturgeon said she's excited to become a part of the Vernon-Rockville community, and can't wait to begin the volunteer work that comes with her new position.

"The Rockville organization is so fantastic, and they do so much in the community," she said. "I'm going to go to tons of appearances, meet a ton of people and make great connections."

Sturgeon said that the scholarships she has and will likely earn will help with her plans to go to Florida State University next year and major in business.

Ellington High School junior Sapna Raghavan took home the title of Miss Greater Rockville's Outstanding Teen. The 16-year-old said she was also surprised when her name was announced.

"I did not expect to win this at all," Raghavan said, adding that she hopes to use her new position to impact younger girls who have had similar struggles as she has.

"I've gone through a lot of bullying regarding my race, and my skin color," she said. "I want to make sure every girl my age feels comfortable with who they are."

Raghavan was also inspired to compete in the Miss America Organization preliminaries because of Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, who made headlines as she was the first Miss America of Indian descent.

Because of the large turnout of contestants, another title was also bestowed at the Miss Greater Rockville pageant. Pippa Leigh, a 17-year-old senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, won the newly-created title of Miss Hockanum Valley.

She said she was excited to have a brand a new title with connections to the community.

"I feel so honored to be starting a legacy, so I hope to see this continue into the future. I really hope to reach out to the community, to get to know everyone better," Leigh said, adding that this was just her third time competing, but she is looking forward to the experience.

"It was sort of a bucket list goal of mine, and I never thought I would accomplish it, but I just dared myself this year, so I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to," Leigh said.

Like the other two winners, Leigh was surprised to learn she had won.

"I was so happy and so in shock at the same time," she said.

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/missgreaterrockville.